Yes, I am a Progressive living amongst moderate to far-right conservative, Rural White voters. So after their role in this election, I thought I might be as good as anyone to tell you who these folks are, and what makes them tick.
First, let me make clear that a portion of these folks (I won’t attempt to delve into percentages) are life-long White Racists, plain and simple. They have voted their whole lives for the candidate that most closely reflects a KKK agenda and nothing anyone can say or do will change the way they vote. They are simply beyond reach. So please do not mistake what I will say below as a defense of this racist sub-group of the rural voter, since these folks are indefensible.
Now let me tell you about the Rural White voters that I interact with (not the ones covered above). They are generally moderate to conservative in their politics, and as long as you don’t talk politics with them (which I don’t) they are all very nice and easy to get along with. In fact, the ones I know are some of the most generous, caring people you will ever meet, once you get to know them on a personal level. They all are very hard working folks making middle or lower level wages. In most cases, the husband and wife both work out of necessity. Some of these folks were on unemployment back in 2008 when Obama took office but are now in permanent jobs thanks to the stimulus and the general recovery in the economy. However, as Bernie has correctly pointed out numerous times, they continue to feel forgotten in the recovery as they watch the Wall Street tycoons, who sunk the economy in the early 2000s, become richer and richer while their pay has stagnated. The economic stagnation amongst these rural white voters turned into a simmering anger and bitterness just waiting for someone to cure (Bernie) or exploit (Trump).
In terms of politics these folks generally fall into one of two groups, the well educated and less educated rural white voter.
The well educated rural white voters are most likely the ones who voted for Barack Obama in 2008 & 2012, and who either voted for Donald Trump or simply did not vote for either candidate in 2016. The reasons why these folks were on our side in 2008 & 2012, but deserted us in 2016, are varied, but it is certainly not because they turned racist or actually like the racist, misogynistic, xenophobic and other craziness espoused by Trump. They may have just not trusted Clinton or Trump, or they may have felt the need to issue a protest vote against a Democratic Party who they felt is taking them for granted, as in some rust belt States, or no longer cares about them at all, as in some of the Southern States. I have to wonder how many of these folks would have actually cast suc a “Protest Vote, if they new Trump would actually win as a result? Anyway, I don’t feel this group of rural white voters are not beyond reach. They just need someone to sit down with them (one on one if possible), to hear their problems and give them a logical set of proposals on how we can help make things better for them.
The less educated rural white voters, those with just a High School Diploma or less, are another story. Their lower educational status is attributable to a variety of causes, from inability to afford college to genetic disabilities, or to a desire to simply lead a simpler life working with their hands instead of their minds. Whatever the cause, their lower educational status renders them less able to discern fact from fiction, and more susceptible to being fooled. These folks do not deserve to be hated or despised by us. Lack of education should not be a reason to hate someone or to dismiss their relevancy. If anything they deserve sympathy, since they are the innocent who are being conned by the right-wing media to vote against their self-interest and support the Republican politicians who are the most responsible for keeping them economically deprived. Media organizations such as Fox News and Breitbart, and individuals such as Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Shawn Hannity, and many others are the Con-Artists. These right-wing media folks are the true “Deplorables” among us. They constantly lie to the less educated rural white voter and con them into voting for Republicans who don’t give a damn about them and who just make their lives harder and harder by the legislation they pass or block (e.g., blocking increases in the minimum wage, granting tax cuts to the upper 1% on Wall Street while cutting services to the poor to pay for them, etc.). Many of these folks are also not beyond reach politically. Why do I say this? Because I watched us reach many of them during the Bernie Sanders primary campaign. Case in point, when I attended a rural festival in the Fall of 2015, I watched large crowds of rural white voters of all ages enthusiastically surround the Sanders campaign Booth, while almost no one was stopping by the Jeb Bush or Hillary Clinton Booths. Why was this happening I wondered? Because while they did not know much about Bernie at that time, they knew he wasn’t an “establishment” candidate. And as the Sander’s supporter began telling them the truth about the Wall Street Republicans who had crashed the economy, about the large wealth inequality in this country and about the false promise of trickle down economics, medicare for all, free public colleges, I could see the crowd grow and watch their faces as their eyes were opened to the TRUTH. It was amazing and invigorating to watch. These white rural voters turned to Sanders because he told them the truth about how wealth is valued over hard work in this country and how the rigged tax system allows Wall Street CEOs to pay little or no taxes while the working class pays more than their fair share. The point is these folks have been reached by a Democratic candidate who told them the truth, and can be reached again in the future by a similar non-establishment Democratic candidate who tells them the truth.
So what does the Democratic Party do about the rural white voter who is not an “Alt-Right” extremist?
As a Party, we are now at a decision point. We can either:
1. Forget about the rural white voter as unreachable and use the ongoing demographic population shift towards minority voters and well educated suburban white voters to try to create winning majorities, or
2. Appeal to the reachable rural white voter as well as minority and suburban white voters to build a march larger “Working Class” coalition of voters.
Before you read my opinion below on the above options, please feel free to vote in my poll below to provide your opinion of the best way forward.
As far as I’m concerned, I don’t think Option #1 is really a choice at all. Its questionable if or when such a strategy of only appealing to the non-rural voter would succeed nationally. Also, permanently pissing-off the non-Alt-Right, white rural voter will hurt us on the State and local level and greatly hamper Party building efforts.
Option #2 is the only real successful option in my opinion. It calls for a return of Howard Dean’s 50-State Strategy on a grass roots level. This means supporting local Democratic Party organizations in rural counties across the country with both financial and grass root assistance. These local rural Dems. are the ones that are in tune with and can best reach out to the non-Alt-Right, white rural voter. Busing in scores of campaign volunteers from the cities at the last minute of a campaign can, at best have no effect, or at worst turn off rural voters who feel they are being lectured by “elite” strangers. Having Democrats who live amongst these rural voters talk to them one-on-one months before mid-term and Presidential elections is the best way to retrieve them from the dark side and secure their votes. Also, it is essential for the Party to field good qualified candidates from within these rural areas who will represent these folks in Congress and State Legislatures. Picking candidates who have recently moved into the Districts they are seeking to represent (within a year or two of an election) never works. Rural folks will always vote for the native incumbent over any outside candidate no matter how much better the outsider is. I saw this happen in two rural congressional districts this year where the native Republican handily beat the Dem. newcomer.
So I will leave you with this. If you are a rural progressive like me, I would urge to start listening to your neighbors NOW! Listen to what their concerns are, especially regarding their economic issues. Then, in your friendliest, non-lecturing tone possible, respond to their concerns and tell them why you think the Roosevelt Democratic Party can best solve their problems.